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I’ve mentioned before that I don’t understand the “over-valuing” of prospects that happens with a lot of teams’ fanbases. With the Cardinals a month away from the trade deadline, I have heard people time and time again talk about wanting to stand pat and roll with what the team already has, in large part due to reluctance to deal any prospects.

Which is just crazy. There might very well be reasons to stand pat, but reluctance to deal prospects shouldn’t be one of those reasons.

I don’t understand the attachment that fans can develop to assets whose worth is largely unknown. Now, part of it probably has to do with the media’s treatment of the farm system and the organization’s development of prospects.

When you do a great job of developing talent, especially young pitchers, it’s easy to give the organization the benefit of the doubt, and assume that every prospect within the organization will hit.

But that doesn’t mean you should value that benefit of the doubt over the opportunity to improve your big league club with proven commodities.

I don’t think it should be overlooked that a big part of why you have assets is to use them in positions of leverage. With a lot of quality starting pitching on the market this year, it’s a good time to have a lot of attractive trade pieces.

This doesn’t mean that the Cardinals should give away one or more of their top prospects for fifty cents on the dollar, but it also doesn’t mean that anyone should be “untouchable.”

Another part of the decision making process for prospects, whether they be pitchers or position players, should be their fit within the system.

As Joe Sheehan told me on “The Sports Hub” last week, you don’t want to develop a reputation of blocking your own players.

Are there pieces within the organization that might be blocked, especially given Adam Wainwright’s extension and the success of many young pitchers this year? Could Carlos Beltran’s success mean he is back again starting in the outfield next year?

All questions the front office will have to take into account as they consider tweaks to the roster over the next few weeks.

I do think the Cardinals are in a great position to make a move at the deadline, whether that move be major or minor. The combination of success they have gotten from guys on the roster, the stockpile of young chips, and the track record of the front office speaks for itself.